Seymour D. Ruchamkin

Seymour David Ruchamkin
Seymour David Ruchamkin
Born	February 7, 1918; New York, New York
Died	November 13, 1942 (aged 24); Ironbottom Sound, off Guadalcanal
Place of burial	Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Naval Reserve
Years of service	1940–1942
Rank	Lieutenant, junior grade
Unit	USS Cushing (DD-376)
Battles/wars	World War II; *Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Awards	Navy Cross

Seymour D. Ruchamkin (1918–1942) was a United States Navy officer who received the Navy Cross posthumously for his actions in combat during World War II.

Biography[edit]

Seymour David Ruchamkin was born March 8, 1912 in New York City. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1940 and shortly thereafter, on July 13, 1940, enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve. Appointed midshipman on September 16, 1940, he attended the United States Naval Reserve Midshipman School at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and reported to the destroyer USS Cushing (DD-376) on January 24, 1941.

On November 13, 1942, Lieutenant, junior grade, Ruchamkin was killed in action against Japanese forces in Ironbottom Sound off Savo Island in the Solomon Islands during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

Awards[edit]

Ruchamkin was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for " ...extraordinary heroism as first lieutenant aboard the USS Cushing...While under vigorous bombardment by hostile naval units... Ruchamkin...efficiently directed the fighting of fires and the efforts to control damage. Leading his party to an area below decks to extinguish flames which were raging there, he never returned."^[1]

Namesake[edit]

The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Ruchamkin (DE-228), was named for Ruchamkin. She was converted during construction into the high-speed transport USS Ruchamkin (APD-89, later LPR-89), and was in commission as such from 1945 to 1946, from 1951 to 1957, and from 1961 to 1969.

Notes[edit]

↑ This quotation, from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r9/ruchamkin.htm), is unattributed.

References[edit]

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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[1] This quotation, from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r9/ruchamkin.htm), is unattributed.

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